Our Stories

The Latest by Ted Zukoski

Staff Attorney

October 18, 2011

Crybabies of the West

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

Let’s say you have three kids, and one big piece of cake to divide amongst them. One kicks and cries and whines. “I want it ALL,” the baby screams. “I want it all NOW!” The other two say, “We want our fair share.” To keep the decibel level in the house at acceptable levels, and …

October 13, 2011

Coal, Hard Facts

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper took a feel-good tour of a Colorado coal mine this week, bolstering his corporate-friendly cred in the southern part of the state. He talked about how great it was that the mine could co-exist with wildlife, and joked about the high-paying jobs. And for all of you self-serving Prius owners who …

September 22, 2011

America's Best Idea Is Gasping For Air

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

Our National Park system—the first in the world—has been dubbed “America’s best idea.” But that great idea, which offers millions a respite from our industrialized life, is now beseiged more than ever by a symptom of that life—smog. The National Parks Conservation Association published a report last week showing that the number of bad ozone …

July 21, 2011

EPA Dings Forest Service on Roadless Plan for Colorado

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

The Environmental Protection Agency found much room for improvement when it weighed in on the Forest’s Service environmental impact statement that analyzes a proposed rule to weaken protection for roadless lands in Colorado.  Among the EPA’s concerns: the Forest Service proposed to grant the highest level of protection to about one-seventh of Colorado’s 4 million acres …

July 21, 2011

Obama's Monumental No-Show

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

Late in his administration, Bill Clinton attempted to build a conservation legacy worthy of Teddy Roosevelt by designating more than a dozen national monuments across the West. George W. Bush tried to undo that legacy. And President Barack Obama, to his dis-credit, has allowed the Bush-adopted, monument-undercutting status quo to remain, despite being the "hope-y, change-y" …

June 22, 2011

Where HAVE All the Flowers Gone?

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

One of the great joys of living in the Rockies is taking a summer stroll in a high meadow, surrounded by wildflowers – violet lupines, deep red skyrockets, purple larkspur, penstemons, 6-foot gentians, and many others. Some of these diplays may be changing, however, according to a scientific article written up recently in the LA …

June 8, 2011

Babbitt Calls Out Obama on Wilderness

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

Bruce Babbitt, Bill Clinton’s Interior Secretary for eight years, gave a speech  attacking the current GOP Congress for its anti-environmental jihad.  That’s not news. But he also told the Obama administration it wasn’t doing enough to protect western wildlands, and laid out a blueprint for positive steps the president could take to be an environmental champion.  That’s news.  …

June 3, 2011

Notes From Under The Bus

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

Since the GOP won a majority in the House in 2010, the Obama administration has gone into “go-slow” mode – or even has taken a U-turn on presidential initiatives on air pollution and climate change.  The Los Angeles Times took aim at this in a tough May 20 editorial headlined: “In the 2012 campaign, environmentalists don’t matter.”  …

May 24, 2011

Alarming 'Chart of the Day'

By Ted Zukoski  /  Alaska Office

The Arctic Sea Ice Blog earlier this month posted this alarming chart, showing polar sea ice on a downward trajectory.  Based on computer models that incorporate observed sea-ice data, the Arctic Ocean could be entirely ice-free during the month of September by about 2016, and could be ice-free year-round by the early 2030s. Are polar bears getting desperate?  …

May 19, 2011

Colorado Roadless Areas on the Chopping Block (Again)

By Ted Zukoski  /  Rocky Mountain Office

Colorado is the most populous, developed state in the Rocky Mountain West. Despite all the cities and towns, highways, oil rigs and second homes, about 4.4 million acres of roadless national forest remain. And that’s in addition to the 3 million-plus acres of existing wilderness. These roadless lands – which safeguard clean water, wildlife habitat and recreation – …